2019 WSOP Day 25: Chidwick, Engel, and Schwartz Win

Three big names in the world of poker claimed WSOP gold yesterday, all experiencing their first time in the WSOP winner’s circle. Many would have assumed players like Stephen Chidwick, Ari Engel, and Luke Schwartz had been there before, but none had actually won until this year.

On Saturday, June 22, this is what happened at the 50th Annual World Series of Poker.

Event 45: $25K PLO High Roller – Final

Total entries: 278

Prize pool: $6,602,500

Players paid: 42

Final table payouts:

1st place: Stephen Chidwick (UK) – $1,618,417

2nd place: James Chen (Taiwan) – $1,000,253

3rd place: Matthew Gonzales (USA) – $699,364

4th place: Robert Mizrachi (USA) – $497,112

5th place: Alex Epstein (USA) – $359,320

6th place: Erik Seidel (USA) – $264,186

7th place: Wasim Korkis (USA) – $197,637

8th place: Ka Kwan Lau (Hong Kong) – $150,483

Event 47: $1K Ladies NLHE Championship – Day 3 of 4

Total entries: 968

Prize pool: $871,200

Players paid: 146

Minimum payout: $1,496

Winner payout: $167,308

Day 3 players remaining: 6

Final table chip counts:

Tu Dao (Canada) – 5.42 million chips

Jiyoung Kim (China) – 5.1 million chips

Nancy Matson (USA) – 4.53 million chips

Lyly Vo (USA) – 1.7 million chips

Lexy Gavin (USA) – 1.43 million chips

Sandrine Phan (France) – 1,185,000 chips

Final table payouts thus far:

7th place: Raylene Celaya (USA) – $20,582

8th place: Stephanie Hubbard (USA) – $15,544

9th place: Barbara Blechinger (USA) – 11,911

Day 4 starting time: 12noon

Event 48: $2,500 NLHE – Final

Total entries: 996

Prize pool: $2,241,000

Players paid: 150

Final table payouts:

1st place: Ari Engel (Canada) – $427,399

2nd place: Pablo Melogno (Uruguay) – $264,104

3rd place: Wilbern Hoffman (USA) – $186,392

4th place: Ben Keeline (USA) – $133,306

5th place: David Baker (USA) – $96,632

6th place: James Hughes (USA) – $71,010

7th place: Truyen Nguyen (USA) – $52,909

8th place: Ryan Olisar (USA) – $39,980

9th place: Josh Arieh (USA) – $30,643

Event 49: $10K Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw – Final

Total entries: 100

Prize pool: $940,000

Players paid: 15

Final table payouts:

1st place: Luke Schwartz (UK) – $273,336

2nd place: George Wolff (USA) – $168,936

3rd place: Johannes Becker (Germany) – $116,236

4th place: Mark Gregorich (USA) – $81,635

5th place: Yueqi Zhu (China) – $58,547

6th place: Calvin Anderson (USA) – $42,898

Event 50: $1,500 NLHE Monster Stack – Day 1B of 6

Total entries: 6,035

Prize pool: $8,147,250

Players paid: 906

Minimum payout: $2,249

Winner payout: $1,008,850

Day 1 players remaining: 2,902

Day 1A chip leader: Conor Beresford (UK) – 724,000 chips

Day 1B chip leader: James Hundt (USA) – 466,600 chips

Day 2 starting time: 11am

Event 51: $2,500 Mixed – Day 2 of 3

Total entries: 401

Prize pool: $902,250

Players paid: 61

Minimum payout: $3,727

Winner payout: $213,750

Day 2 players remaining: 12

Chip leader: Michael Thompson (USA) – 923,000 chips

Day 3 starting time: 2pm

Event 52: $10K PLO 8-Handed Championship – Day 1 of 4

Total entries: 494 (registration remains open)

Prize pool: $4,463,600 (not final)

Players paid: TBD

Minimum payout: TBD

Winner payout: TBD

Day 1 players remaining: 253

Chip leader: Yi Li (USA) – 572,000 chips

Day 2 starting time: 2pm

Notable Information

Stephen Chidwick didn’t just win any WSOP tournament as his first; he took down the $25K buy-in PLO High Roller for more than $1.6 million. After having cashed at the WSOP 52 times in the past, 13 of which were final table finishes, the high-stakes poker regular took this one down. “I try really hard to detach the bracelet and everything around it,” he said. “I have been here many times, and I had a lot of heartbreak over the years, too.”

And to finally win it? “It means a lot. It feels great,” Chidwick said. “I had so many people supporting me for the past 10 years since I have been grinding so hard to win a bracelet, and I know I have a lot of people in my corner that are really happy for me, and that means a lot.”

The rest of his series action will depend on his wife and infant daughter. Chidwick noted that they take priority, and he will base his play on the needs of his family.

Ari Engel was another longtime poker pro that hadn’t won a WSOP gold bracelet until yesterday in the $2,500 NLHE event. He does have nine WSOP Circuit rings, but now he has the bracelet. But he never game up. “The competition in this was way tougher (than WSOP Circuit events). It means more from the poker accomplishment perspective.”

He acknowledged luck’s role in the win but also his own ability to take it down. “I sucked out so many times in this tournament; it’s ridiculous,” Engel said. “With this huge field of No Limit players, you play these expecting to win one in a lifetime. It’s a relief to not mess this up.”

And then Luke Schwartz captured his first WSOP gold. That win came in the $10K Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship. “It feels pretty good, pretty relieving,” he commented. “It’s a nice thing to have as a poker player.”

He acknowledged the change that many have already seen in him, from a young pro with a temper to a more mature player with focus. When talking about the five-hour three-handed match in the tournament, Schwartz said, “Maybe the old me would’ve just got too frustrated and tilted, but I just took a deep breath … I just wanted the bracelet. I just wanted to win it.”

Jennifer began writing about poker while working at the World Poker Tour in the mid-2000s. Since then, her freelance writing career has taken her from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and back to her hometown of St. Louis, where she now lives with her two dogs. She continues to follow the poker world as she also launches a new subscription box company and finishes her first novel. Jennifer has written for numerous publications including PokerStars.com and has followed the US poker and gaming market closely for the last 15 years. Follow Jen on Twitter

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